


The Treasure Guardian

by zozobird



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s), POV First Person, unnamed character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29823078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zozobird/pseuds/zozobird
Summary: There's always something to enjoy about walking the trails with my dog. She's so well-behaved, I can walk her off-leash with absolutely no issues. And of course, the moment I think that, Tilly decides to go running off into the woods. I chase after her and she leads me to a little black notebook...? What??





	The Treasure Guardian

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for a writing contest, but I was too late to enter (only by an hour, go figure). I still want to share it because I think the premise is good. I want to make it into a full-fledged book one day, so I want to gauge people's reactions to what would be the prologue.

Walking through the woods was always a pleasant treat. Especially in the early fall, when the trees are just starting to change color. I take a deep breath, enjoying the crispness of the cool autumn air, and admire the colors of the leaves as they lazily drift to the ground. I glance at my dog from the corner of my eye, making sure Tilly isn't wandering too far from me. The wolfhound mix looks back at me, her tail wagging and her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she prances beside me.

She is a very well-trained dog, which is why it surprises me when she suddenly darts off the trail.

"Tilly?!" I cry out in shock, my hand belatedly reaching out to grab her. She disappears into the foliage, and I quickly run after her.

I whistle, but rather than coming back like she's trained to do, Tilly just looks back at me expectantly and keeps going. She's not running anymore, at least. She's slowed down to a trot, and I'm able to attach her emergency leash to her collar. I try to lead her back to the trail but she pulls hard against me-actually pulling me back a few feet in the process. In fact, it's almost as if she's trying to lead me somewhere. I give in and let her lead the way, figuring she just caught the scent of another animal.

We don't walk for long before Tilly starts digging at the base of a maple tree. The tree is old with a thick, twisting trunk. Its leaves rustle in the breeze, the warm colors mixing together and giving the tree the appearance of being on fire. It's beautiful and I find myself mesmerized by the playful dance.

Tilly's bark breaks me out of my trance and I look down at her. Her silver fur is covered in dirt and she looks proud of herself. At her feet is a little black notebook-barely bigger than my hand. I reach down and grab it, confused.

" _ This _ is what you had to find?" I'm incredulous. All of that, just to find a silly little notebook?

It's surprisingly clean for being buried. I flip it over, trying to see if there's any writing on it. Nope, nothing. Just the hard, black cover. I then open the cover, figuring someone's lost it. On the first page is one word-' _ Hemlock _ '-none of the other pages have anything written on them. They're just blank, unlined paper. I shrug and close the notebook.

"Come on, Tilly," I turn back towards the trail with Tilly obediently walking beside me. "I guess I have a new notebook I can use."

* * *

A few days later, I grabbed the black notebook to make a shopping list.

"Okay, I need to get a new…" I trail off, looking at the notebook in confusion. "What? How?"

' _ Hemlock _ ' is not the only thing on the page anymore. Below the word, there was now a crude drawing of a little shop nestled in the shadows between two large buildings. Beside the picture, the word ' _ DIVITIAE _ ' was messily scrawled out.

I squinted at the drawing. There was something familiar about the little shop. The longer I looked, the more familiar it looked. It was like a word stuck on the tip of my tongue-I knew it was there, I could describe it. But I just can't place it.

It takes me a few minutes, but eventually I figure it out. It had to be one of the many little shops nestled in the center of town. I take a moment to contemplate going to town for this, but decide that it's worth a shot. I had to go into town anyway, I might as well see what this notebook was about.

I pull on a light sweater, put the notebook in my pocket, then I grab my car keys and leave.

  
  


It's not a long drive into town and there's no traffic, which makes the trip even faster. I park my car in one of the lots by the bank and start my search.

Walking up the streets, I find myself relaxing. It's nice. I never really took the time to look around the town before. There are a lot of little shops that I never knew were there before. I make a mental note to stop at some of the shops at a later date, when I'm not busy with solving this little notebook.

Lost in thought, my feet guide me down an alleyway. And before I know it, I'm standing in front of the very building from the notebook. I hesitate before approaching the oak door. With a deep breath, I push the door open.

The inside of the shop is filled with all kinds of things. From a large bookcase on the far wall, to shelves full of colorful rocks and crystals, to aisles with little statues and pendants-there's a little bit of everything.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I call out, walking farther into the store.

"Just a minute, please!" A feminine voice calls from the back of the building.

I pull out the notebook and open it again as I wait for the person. There's another addition to the page. The word ' _ Hemlock _ ' is now darkly circled and around the word ' _ DIVITIAE _ ' is a cartoonish speech bubble.

"... Hemlock?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" The voice comes from directly behind me, and I jump and turn around in shock. "How do you know my name?"

The woman before me is tall and thin. Her brunette hair is pulled into a high ponytail, with a few strands coming loose to frame her olive-toned face. Sharp green eyes pierce through me and I find myself swallowing nervously.

"I found a little black notebook and it had your name in it. It also said 'divitiae'...?"

Hemlock's eyes widen and she frantically pushes me into a back room. She sits me down in one of the plastic chairs and turns to pull a loose board from the wall. Inside the wall is a wooden box. Passing the box to me, Hemlock gives me an explanation.

"That notebook you found is, essentially, a living treasure map. It can show you where many riches are, but only in a very specific order. I'm the first on the list and the first reward is $20,000. The rewards only get better from here on out, but finding them also gets progressively harder," she smiled widely at me. "Congratulations, the other treasure guardians won't be as easy to convince as I was."

"So you know where the other treasures are?"

"Of course I do," she scoffed. "But what fun would it be if I just  _ told  _ you?"

  
"You're right!" I give a loud laugh. "This is going to be so much  _ fun _ !"

**Author's Note:**

> The parameters of the contest was to write about a person coming into $20,000 and it had to include a little black notebook (which could be the focus or a small detail, as long as it was there) between 600-2,000 words. So I took the idea and turned it into something I would want to read. Even if I couldn't enter it in the contest, I really like how it turned out.


End file.
